JERUSALEM - Activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israeli naval forces have been detained at an Israeli port and are expected to be moved to prison, rights lawyers and the flotilla’s organisers said on Wednesday.
The convoy, described by organisers as comprising 50 vessels with participants from 40 countries, was attempting to reach Gaza for a renewed aid delivery after earlier missions were also intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters. Organisers say their objective is to breach the naval blockade on Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian assistance.
Video footage from the interception showed Israeli forces opening fire on at least two of the flotilla vessels on Tuesday. Israeli authorities characterised those rounds as warning shots.
Detention and planned transfers
Israeli officials said all 430 activists on the flotilla had been transferred to Israeli vessels. The authorities stated the activists would be permitted to meet with their consular representatives after arrival in Israel.
Adalah, an Israeli rights organisation, issued a statement saying the activists had been "detained at Ashdod port" and taken into Israel against their will, and that Adalah attorneys were entering to provide legal consultations.
The flotilla’s organisers said in a separate statement that the activists would be transported to Ketziot prison in Israel’s southern Negev desert. They added that Adalah lawyers would be unable to meet detainees until they reached Ketziot.
Past flotillas that were intercepted resulted in the deportation of activists after periods of detention, the organisers said.
Consular and international responses
Italy’s foreign ministry, without specifying the number of Italian nationals aboard, said its citizens were expected to be transferred to a facility for identification and then allowed to depart. The ministry said Italians on the flotilla included a member of Parliament and a journalist.
South Korea also reported nationals among the detained. President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that Israel’s actions were "way out of line." He questioned the legal basis for the arrests, asking whether the detentions occurred in Israeli territorial waters or on Israeli land and whether Israeli authorities could seize and detain vessels from third countries. The president described detention of South Korean citizens without justification under international law as "too excessive and inhumane."
Israel’s foreign ministry posted on X that it "will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza."
Humanitarian backdrop
Organisers and humanitarian groups have said the flotilla’s mission is prompted by continuing shortages of aid in Gaza. Those shortages persist despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025, which includes guarantees of increased aid flows.
Most of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people has been displaced, with many living in bombed-out homes, makeshift tents pitched on open ground or roadsides, or on the ruins of destroyed buildings. Israel controls all access to the Gaza Strip and denies that it is withholding supplies from residents.
Israel has retained control of more than 60% of Gaza since a U.S.-backed ceasefire in October, while the militant group Hamas controls a much smaller area along the coast, according to the statements contained in the flotilla reporting.
Voyage details
Organisers said ships from the flotilla had set sail for a third time on Thursday from southern Turkey. They say the convoy included participants from 40 countries sailing on about 50 vessels. Activists aboard previous flotillas intercepted by Israel were deported after being detained.
The situation remains fluid as diplomatic and legal representatives seek access to the detained activists and as officials complete identification and processing. The flotilla organisers and rights lawyers are continuing to monitor the movement of detainees toward detention facilities in the Negev.